Texas Tech begins coaching search after Kingsbury firing

Alexis Cubit, Herald Sports Editor

Updated
9:15 am CST, Monday, November 26, 2018

Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury (center) stands on the sideline during the Red Raiders’ game against Kansas State on Nov. 17 in Manhattan, Kan. Athletics director Kirby Hocutt informed Kingsbury of his firing on Sunday morning. less

Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury (center) stands on the sideline during the Red Raiders’ game against Kansas State on Nov. 17 in Manhattan, Kan. Athletics director Kirby Hocutt informed ... more

Photo: Devin Ward/KCBD

Photo: Devin Ward/KCBD

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Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury (center) stands on the sideline during the Red Raiders’ game against Kansas State on Nov. 17 in Manhattan, Kan. Athletics director Kirby Hocutt informed Kingsbury of his firing on Sunday morning. less

Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury (center) stands on the sideline during the Red Raiders’ game against Kansas State on Nov. 17 in Manhattan, Kan. Athletics director Kirby Hocutt informed ... more

Photo: Devin Ward/KCBD

Texas Tech begins coaching search after Kingsbury firing

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LUBBOCK – The inevitability of Texas Tech head football coach Kliff Kingsbury’s firing loomed after a 35-24 loss to Baylor on Saturday in Arlington.

Though no decision was confirmed, Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt made his recommendation to University President Lawrence Schovanec to let Kingsbury go that night after the game. He then met with the six-year head coach Sunday morning before making the decision public.

Hocutt and Kingsbury informed assistant coaches later in the day before speaking with the rest of the football team. While Hocutt wouldn’t disclose player reactions, several have spoken highly of Kingsbury in the last couple of weeks and after Saturday’s loss.

“Everyone loves him. Everybody wants to play for him and win for him,” senior defensive back Jah’Shawn Johnson said. “I wish these guys could come back with the same coaching staff because this program is headed in the right direction, believe it or not. And, yeah, he's a great guy, great leader.”

On Monday morning, Kingsbury spoke out for the first time since he was let go via a tweet.

Despite speculation that a win over Baylor – thus being bowl eligible – would keep Kingsbury at his beloved alma mater, the decision has been years in the making.

“This decision was made based on a three-year pattern of inconsistency. We didn’t come here to win five, six, five games for our football season to end in November,” Hocutt said. “We saw progress at times. We talked about that. … But we also saw lapses of progress in key critical areas that in the game of football are critical to have the level of success that we all want to have.”

Hocutt adds that with the level of success that the other sports programs have had in recent times, there was an immediate desire to have football match that.

“I guarantee you, we will be elite in football again. This program has been there before and we’ll get there again,” he said. “The spirit that’s lived right here in Jones AT&T Stadium before, it’s still there. You can hear it at times. It just needs to be rekindled and we will relight it. Red Raider Nation, we will light it and we will be elite.”

What started out as a promising year with wins over Oklahoma State and TCU soon turned sour as the Red Raiders lost the last five games of the season for a final record of 5-7 and 3-6 in conference play.

Kingsbury and the Red Raiders were in a similar situation last season and won their final game, but lost its bowl game for a 6-7 season. The year before in 2016, the Red Raiders were 5-7. Kingsbury still had two years left on his contract – around $4 million – which Texas Tech will honor.

The search for a new head coach began Saturday night. Current West Virginia head football coach Dana Holgersen was named as one of the top candidates being considered, per Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Holgersen, like Kingsbury, has ties to Texas Tech, but as a coach for the Red Raiders between 2000 and 2007.

Having a connection to Texas Tech or even being a head coach isn’t necessarily a requirement for Hocutt, who is working with Schovanec and Chancellor Tedd Mitchell in leading the national head coach search.

“We want a man with the highest amount of character, integrity, somebody who’s going to represent Texas Tech University with class. Somebody who is able to or will assemble a staff that is able to recruit in the state of Texas,” Hocutt said. “Someone who has experienced success within the game of football, especially college football and somebody that is able to build an elite program defined by winning and winning the right way. That is who we are. That is what we expect.”

With a new head coach will come new assistant coaches as well. The current coaching staff has been asked to stay onboard to help with the current players. Once the new head coach is hired, the coaching staff will have to interview for their position, though the new coach will likely bring his own staff.

Players wanting to transfer will be aided by compliance in doing so, but Hocutt encourages them to stay and trust in the future of the program.

“We’ve got the ingredients to do something special and take that next step. I hope that they will stay with us through this process and give us a chance on who we’re going to hire next,” Hocutt said.